How to set up your Salesforce inclusion list

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An important and powerful feature of the Salesforce integration is that you can create and use an active list within HubSpot to limit the contacts that sync from HubSpot to Salesforce. If your sales team only wants leads that meet a very specific criteria to enter their Salesforce database, the inclusion list is helpful in passing on only the most qualified leads to your sales teams.

This article walks through setting up a new active list and then setting this new list as your Salesforce inclusion list. Nobody outside of this list will sync from HubSpot over to Salesforce, so when you’re building this smart list, make sure you think carefully on the criteria.

Please note: if you do not set a Salesforce inclusion list, all contacts in HubSpot will sync to Salesforce. If you're a SalesProfessional user only, while you can integrate with Salesforce, you will not be able to create an inclusion list.

What is the 'Salesforce inclusion list (default)' list in my account?

On June 22, 2017, default inclusion lists were set for all previously existing Salesforce-integrated customers who did not have an inclusion list. The list includes all contacts except those with a lifecycle stage ofSubscriberand will appear in your account as Salesforce inclusion list (default).

Please note: there are no underlying functionality changes with this update. Contacts with the lifecycle stage of Subscriber do not meet the criteria for the default inclusion list and are, therefore, ineligible to sync.

Accounts created after June 22, 2017 will not have an inclusion list by default, and all contacts will sync unless an inclusion list is created for your account. You can learn more about creating inclusion lists here.

Go to Integrations

In your HubSpot MarketingProfessional or Enterprise account, click your photo or avatar in the top right-hand corner, then click Integrations.

Salesforce settings

Under the Your integrations tab, locate Salesforce and then click Settings to the right of it.

Create your inclusion list

Select the General tab. Then scroll to the Inclusion List section. From the dropdown menu, select +Create Inclusion List.

Create your list

You'll then be brought to your list tool. Select your list filters. Your inclusion list will look at the filters you set and only sync contacts who meet those filters from HubSpot to Salesforce.

Following the example, to make this list, choose Contact property | Lifecycle stage | is any of | Sales qualified lead. Click Done to set your filters. Then click Next in the upper right-hand corner.

Give your list a name. Ideally, name your list around the criteria you plan on setting. For example, if you would like to build a list around contacts that have a lifecycle stage of Sales qualified lead, you'll name your list something along the lines of Sales qualified leads - SF inclusion list.

By default, when creating an inclusion list, HubSpot will set that list to be an active list. Only an active list can be set as your Salesforce inclusion list because it will dynamically update as contacts meet the filters you’ve set in that list. When you're done creating your list, click Save and back to lists.

Once you have saved your list, return to your Salesforce general settings and select the list from the dropdown menu.

But what if I decide later on that I don’t want to use that inclusion list anymore?

To select a different inclusion list, return to your Account Menu > Integrations and then click (Salesforce) Settings (from steps 1 - 2 above). Head back to the Inclusion List section. From the dropdown menu, choose your new inclusion list. Alternatively, you can remove any inclusion list from being set by choosing --No Inclusion List--. Your changes will be saved automatically.